‘Fierce determination to succeed’

2013-02-03 03:56:31

Christian Horner insists Red Bull have lost none of their drive to succeed as the team aims for a fourth successive double

Although last year was by no means a repeat of Red Bull’s 2011 dominance, a late second-half charge ensured the team walked away with seven race victories and, more importantly, a third successive Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.

But rather than their success bringing about a measure of complacency, Horner is adamant it has instead given them the desire to fight even harder.

“It’s fantastic, a combination of a great amount of effort,” said the team boss at the launch of the new Red Bull RB9. “As always the competition is phenomenal, so to have won three in a row is quite remarkable.

“It’s testimony to all the hard work that has gone on. We’re still a young team, but we’re evolving and there is a fierce determination to keep those trophies for another year.”

As for the new car, technical guru Adrian Newey says it is an evolution of the 2012 title-winning RB8 as the stable regulations have allowed for the teams to build on last season.

“It’s an evolutionary car,” said Newey. “There were no big regulation changes over the winter. The most significant change is not the regulations, it’s the new Pirelli tyres but we’re only going to find out anything about them in testing.

“It’s really been a case of refining the RB8. There are no huge changes. It’s very much an evolutionary car. All the principles the same as last year.

“The devil has very much been in the detail with this car. We’ve tidied up some bits that we felt could be improved on. Development is now the key through the year.”